1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Matthew 13:1-8; 18-23 (KJV)

How well-grounded is the Gospel in your life? The Gospel itself is never the issue. It is the quality of the reception and what happens after it is received that is always the determining factor of what quality or what life springs from that Gospel.

This parable of Jesus teaches us that we are responsible for the way we receive the Gospel and that how we receive it will determine how well-grounded we become in God’s Kingdom.

Social Christian

  • Convenience (Matthew 13:1-4)
    The “way-side” (KJV) or “path” mentioned in verse 4 was part of the landscape, too. This was the “hard” ground. This was material so hard that nothing would grow on it. This is part of the landscape of human culture too. 
  • Condemned (Matthew 13:4,19)
    No life, therefore, can sprout. It never gets the chance! The fowls in Jesus’ story represent the devil and this world. The ground of their existence is condemned to be barren of eternal fruit. Their life is truly empty of real meaning. They live just a barren existence.
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Stony Christian

  • Contented (Matthew 13:5,20)
  • Callous (Matthew 13:6,21)
    Weak hearted because there is no depth to the commitment to Christ. These believers are committed as long as they are doing well and conditions are favorable. They cannot handle any pressures. They have a root problem! They don’t want to go deep and prefer life to be easy. And since life is not easy, these are often frequent casualties in our churches. They are the “up and down” Christians.

Thorny Christian   

  • Choked (Matthew 13:7)
    This Christian is interesting because they are deeply rooted and have developed well, but have never thought about the concept of intrusion. Energy is consumed by constant worry over matters of everyday life. They cannot see or get beyond too many problems in life.
  • Consumed (Matthew13:22)

Grounded Christian        

  • Constant (Matthew 13:8)
    It is important to note that two things are happening here: (1) good soil conditions are necessary; and (2) good care of conditions around soil on an ongoing basis is necessary also.
  • Crops (Matthew 13:23)
    The crops are the result of evangelism of strong healthy plants. It is the result of the church as a whole, not just the Pastor. There is an investment by many to keep the ground clean of weeds. There is good soil to work with, and it is the responsibility of the individual. It is the combined forces of good soil and good toil that bring forth good fruit.

The Gospel can only flourish in the person who has prepared their ground properly and continue to have a clean, uncluttered environment.